Turning Back the Clock
by Dazzlious
Summary: When Hermione uses the last remaining Time-Turner to try to help Harry, things go terribly wrong. Can she put things right again, or will Severus Snape be the fly in the ointment? *NOW COMPLETE*
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from JK Rowling's fantastic books or films, I'm just borrowing and playing with them for a little while and get no monetary reward for doing so.

A/N: _I want to thank my beta, Mamacita, for everything she does for me. She really is one of a kind and I am lucky to count her as my friend. Dx_

* * *

The final battle is coming, as I have always known it must, and I will stand by Harry and Ron and fight with them to the death if need be. There has never been any doubt of this, at least not in my mind. After all, they were my best friends for six years, whatever has happened since, and I will not desert them now.

Will we win? I have no idea. I have done so many things to try to change the outcome, but in the end, it all comes down, as it always has, to whether Harry is strong enough to beat Voldemort.

I honestly believe he is. I have taught him as well as I am able and inside he has the strength of character he needs to do what needs to be done.

As long as he isn't beset by doubt, Harry can achieve anything.

But before I leave to prepare for what is ahead I feel the need to release the secret I have kept hidden away inside me for all these years. I am aware that to write down my story is to incriminate myself, but with the end so close I just cannot keep it hidden any longer. It is a secret that I have borne alone for too long, and even just to write it down will give me the freedom I need to move on and help Harry achieve his aims.

If we prevail, then I shall burn this parchment and no one will be any the wiser. If we fall, then this document will stand as a testament to what I did to try to defeat Voldemort and his followers. If that happens and I am still alive, I will no doubt pay dearly for my interference. If I am dead, history will judge me however it likes.

I will not care, knowing that if I had to do it all again I would still do everything exactly the same . . . .


	2. Chapter 1

So, I guess it all began as we sat under a tree by the lake during the last few weeks of our sixth year at Hogwarts. The bright summer sun was blazing down, the heat tempered slightly by a warm breeze, causing the susurration of the leaves that dappled the ground with light and shade.

Ginny and Harry had finally revealed to Ron that they were a couple and after a few days of sulking and grumbling, he had, at last, begun coming to terms with the fact that it was going to happen whether he liked it or not. Ron and I were closer than we had ever been. His entanglement with Lavender was completely over and I think he was finally beginning to realise that what we shared was something deeper than just friendship.

As we lay around enjoying the warm breeze that drifted off the lake I can remember the feeling of contentment mixed with a knot of dread that these sunny days were coming to an end. Although we hadn't discussed it I was pretty sure that Harry was thinking of leaving Hogwarts at the end of the year, and as was always the case, he would feel he needed to do it alone, idiot boy that he was. Even Professor Dumbledore couldn't change Harry's mind once it was made up.

Of course, we needed to do something. Voldemort was gaining power rapidly. We knew that the Ministry of Magic was pretty much in his hands now and his Death Eaters were creating havoc once more. But I was sure Harry charging off on his own to look for Horcruxes wasn't the answer.

For some time, I had been considering the events that led to where we were today, right back to Voldemort's first rise to power and trying to unravel in my mind how people's actions had affected things. Eventually, it had become obvious, to me at least, that the person central to everything was our Potions Master, Professor Severus Snape. In truth, Professor Snape was at that time our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, a post he had apparently coveted since joining the school but I still couldn't help thinking of him as the Potions Master as he had been that for so long.

Harry had told me once, in a fit of panic, something he had learnt about Professor Snape during the Occlumency Lessons he had taken with the snarky Potions Master back in the fifth year. Given an unexpected opportunity, Harry had broken Professor Snape's trust irrevocably by looking at a memory the teacher had placed inside a Pensieve before the lesson began. The memory contained images of Harry's parents and didn't show his father, in particular, in a good light. Worried that Professor Snape had been right about his father being a bully, Harry had told me all about the memory and Professor Snape's reaction and I had promised on pain of death never to repeat it to anyone else.

The seriousness of the memory was shown by the fact that Harry didn't even tell Ron about it, which I have to say relieved me greatly; with his hatred of Professor Snape I'm sure Ron would have ended up blurting it out when he lost his temper as he's never been the most tactful of people.

But the memory, and in particular Professor Snape's reaction to Harry seeing it, had got me thinking.

It was clear from what Harry had described that his mother and Professor Snape had at one time been, at the very least, close friends. Harry was blinkered by his hatred for Professor Snape and didn't want to believe that to be the case, but I could easily imagine it. And the way Harry had described the hurt that Lily had shown when Professor Snape called her a Mudblood — well, it would have been the same as if Ron had said those words to me.

The more I considered it, the more convinced I became that there had definitely been something between Professor Snape and Lily although by the time they left school the relationship was over and she was with James Potter, who she had gone on to marry. From there it wasn't too great a step to wondering whether maybe Professor Snape had been in love with Lily and the reason the memory had been so painful for him was because it showed the end of his relationship with her. Had he carried a torch for her after they left school?

As I looked at events and pieced things together I became more convinced. Professor Snape _had_ still been in love with Harry's mother, even when she and James died, and somehow this had made him protect Harry even though Harry looked so much like his detested father, which actually, also explained why Professor Snape seemed to hate him so much.

I still wasn't entirely sure how Professor Snape fitted into the death of Harry's parents; a nagging part of me said that he was definitely involved somehow but I was sure it was all tied into the reason that Professor Dumbledore trusted Professor Snape so implicitly and refused to listen to any arguments about the Potions Master still being a Death Eater.

Once I had convinced myself that Professor Snape was the key player in all of this I set about seeing how he tied in with the other main players. That he _had_ been a Death Eater was a well-known fact. As I said, several members of the Order of the Phoenix were convinced he still was, although being fair to the Professor that had been mainly Harry's godfather, Sirius Black and he had been James' best friend and detested Professor Snape at least as much as James had.

But Professor Dumbledore trusted him and whilst it was troubling that some of Professor Snape's actions appeared questionable, to say the least, we had no choice but to do the same. Harry and Ron did so belligerently, but I remembered how in the first year we had misjudged the teacher completely, blaming him for trying to kill Harry when he had in fact, been attempting to keep him alive.

It wasn't easy trying to remember that the sullen teacher was on our side, especially when he was so mean to us in Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Harry and Ron found it all too easy to blame him for every bad thing that happened. But being mentally somewhat older than my friends I managed to see past that and I was sure that Professor Dumbledore was right. Somewhere deep inside, Professor Snape was good.

From the brief snatches of meetings we had managed to overhear the Order of the Phoenix having at Grimmauld Place I got the impression that Professor Snape was back at Voldemort's side working as a spy for the Order, which pretty much meant that he'd had that role the previous time the Dark Lord, as he was known to his followers, had risen to power although whether Professor Snape had been on our side then was unclear.

Although Harry didn't like to admit it, Professor Snape had spent our entire time at school keeping watch over him and making sure he didn't come to any harm — and there had been plenty of occasions when he might have because Harry just naturally seems to attract trouble.

I still hadn't worked out whether the Professor was working on Dumbledore's orders or was doing it because of his love for Lily. I was fairly certain he knew of the prophecy that had been made about Harry being the Chosen One. That seemed to be fairly common knowledge these days. But more important was when he had first learnt of the actual contents. Had he been aware of it during Voldemort's first rise and realised that the prophecy referred to Lily's son? If he had, maybe it would explain his behaviour towards Harry. Hating him for looking so much like his father, Professor Snape would still feel compelled to safeguard him against the future rise of Voldemort to make up for . . . what . . . letting Lily down and allowing Voldemort to kill her?

I knew that was probably a little too fanciful, even for me, but the prophecy definitely fitted somewhere in that hazy mess between the Potters and Professor Snape.

Back in my third year at school, Professor Dumbledore had agreed that I should be given a Time-Turner so I could study more lessons than everyone else. In retrospect, it was a terrible idea. Even with my organisational skills I couldn't keep up with the extra work and argued with both Ron and Harry over the course of the year, nearly losing their friendship completely along the way.

In fact, it was only Hagrid who kept me sane during those tense, unhappy days, which is why I hit Draco Malfoy when he took the piss out of Hagrid for being upset at the destruction of his Hippogriff, Buckbeak; though if I'm honest I had been tempted to do it several times before that as the obnoxious prat had been winding me up ever since we first started at Hogwarts.

Although the Time-Turner eventually proved useful in allowing Harry and me to free both Buckbeak and Sirius, at the end of the year I decided to give it back and return to a more normal level of study and regain my sanity.

In our fifth year, we fought Voldemort's Death Eaters at the Ministry of Magic during which all the Time-Turners were destroyed, or so it was reported in the _Daily Prophet_. But Harry, who was forever in the Headmaster's study for one reason or another, had told me a few weeks earlier that he had seen _my_ Time-Turner on a shelf in a cupboard with the Sorting Hat. For some reason, the Headmaster hadn't returned it to the Ministry of Magic.

That got me considering how we could use the Time-Turner to go back to before Harry's parents' deaths — back to when they and Professor Snape were still at school but sometime after the time of the Potions Master's memory, to see what had happened to make Harry into the Chosen One — and then change the past so his parents didn't die. Without the prophecy coming true, time would take a different path . . . a better path.

Obviously, I would have to be the one to go. Harry couldn't do it as it would be his parents he was dealing with and that would make things just too difficult, even if you forgot the fact that he looked exactly like a younger version of his father and had his mother's eye and I knew he would have trouble seeing Sirius again, even if he was twenty-odd years younger. Ron, too, with his bright red Weasley hair, was out of the question. Although his parents had left the school by that time he was far too noticeable to pass without questioning. And as much as I loved Ron, I didn't think his skills at bluffing were that good.

I, on the other hand, was perfect for the task. An average-looking and, when my hair was tied back, rather nondescript Muggle-born teenage girl with higher than average intelligence and the ability to cast spells far beyond my years, I could infiltrate the school without really being noticed. And if I ended up being there for longer than anticipated and had to sit the N.E.W.T. exams I was certain I could do so fairly confidently, not something that either of my two friends could say.

Therefore, I spent those few weeks drawing up intricate plans of what I thought had happened all those years before, what I thought I could do to put the situation right and finally, timetables of what Harry and Ron would need to do in order to help me successfully implement the plan. Because, as with everything we had achieved over the years, we had acted as a team and this time would be no different.

So, as we sat on that balmy summer's day, I ran through my head one last time exactly what I was going to say to get them to help me with my plan. I knew that once I managed to get them properly listening to what I had discovered and forced the information through their thick skulls and into their brains, the boys would agree to help me, if only because there wasn't really anything else to try . . . except for finding Horcruxes.

I did briefly consider taking my plan to Professor Dumbledore and asking his opinion. But it seemed to me that over the years he had left Harry in the dark about too many important discoveries to be completely trusted. Also, I knew that if he said no to my plan, the frustration of knowing I could do something to change history and not being allowed to do anything about it would be overwhelming.

And so the plan had to remain a closely guarded secret. 

* * *

There was a pattern to our days in the sun. Ron, always keen to forget about schoolwork, would lie on his back with his hands behind his head talking about the summer holidays as if we had nothing more troubling in our lives. Sometimes I envied him, that he could so effectively ignore all the important and bad stuff although most of the time it just annoyed me.

Harry would be in agreement with Ron, although sometimes when I looked into those emerald green eyes of his I could see him thinking and worrying, his brain running through a series of complex plans that he wouldn't, or couldn't, share. Just occasionally his mood would turn melancholic, which with Harry meant angry and it could be hard to shake him out of it.

Ginny was just happy to be with Harry. In love with him since the first time she met him, it had been a long haul before Harry finally realised that beautiful Ginny, with her long fiery red hair, wasn't just Ron's little sister any longer. It was hard for her sometimes as, being a year younger than us, she was rarely included in the things we did during school time but on days like the one I am describing she could happily spend her time with us.

Then there was me. I was always thinking about something: school work and exams, the Order of the Phoenix and, as I've just said, the cause and effect of Voldemort. People call me bossy but really I'm just highly organised and like others to be that way, too. That's why I always drew up Harry and Ron's exam timetables otherwise, they would never get anything done.

I was also in love with Ron, which is why, although he drove me completely potty with his laziness sometimes, I always helped him to complete his homework and was so glad that Lavender Brown had finally been given the boot.

As I said earlier, although I was enjoying the sunshine and the chance to do nothing I couldn't relax, not completely. I tried, I really did, knowing that Ron would moan at me for ruining their afternoon if I mentioned Professor Snape or Voldemort. But I was sure time was running out, both for the wizarding world and for Harry, so eventually, I couldn't help but bring the subject up.

I started, as I had tried to do a few times in the past, by trying to get Harry to talk about what he was going to do once school was finished for the year. As ever, my secretive friend was shifty, brittle and noncommittal, refusing to keep eye contact with any of us for more than a couple of seconds. Then Ron piped up and of course, sided with Harry; telling me to stop pestering him.

But I didn't want to drop it. I was eager to get my plan into action and I needed them for it to work.

Eventually, with a hugely impatient sigh, Ron lay back down on the grass shaking his head in surrender. Harry looked at me intently, knowing I wouldn't be so insistent on talking if I didn't think it was important and he, at least, took this as seriously as me. Ginny, who knew trouble was coming, glanced at her brother then rose and gave Harry a brief kiss on the lips before making her excuses and leaving so the three of us could talk on our own.

I started to explain, firstly about my suspicions and discoveries, then I followed up with my conclusions and plans. As I had expected, Harry didn't want to hear about his mother and Professor Snape and Ron had blasted a laugh of complete disbelief at my suggestion. But slowly, as I unravelled my story, Harry became calmer and more interested and Ron even sat up and was looking at my carefully drawn plans. We sat there for another hour, me talking until I was almost hoarse as I answered all the questions that Harry and Ron threw at me, both about my conclusions and the plan and as the sun began to set over the lake I realised I had convinced them.

Central to my plan was the Time-Turner and the acquisition of it had to be left to Harry. He would have to pick a moment when he was left alone in the Headmaster's study and liberate it from its cupboard. I was hoping that Professor Dumbledore hadn't put a charm on the item or we would fall at the first hurdle, but something inside me was telling me this was how we had to proceed so I pushed that thought aside.

Pleased with what I had managed to achieve, I rolled up the parchment. The three of us stood and headed back across the lawn towards the castle, its shadows lengthening as the daylight disappeared into the blue of evening. 

* * *

Amazingly, things fell into place only two days later when Harry was summoned to one of his special lessons with the Headmaster. When he returned to the common room several hours later, the three of us left to find somewhere in the castle where we could discuss privately what had taken place.

Harry talked rapidly about his time with Professor Dumbledore and his renewed promise to allow Harry to go with him when he located another Horcrux. This was interesting enough news but I was impatient to know whether Harry had succeeded in liberating the Time-Turner.

I spotted the grin that passed between Harry and Ron as Ron changed the subject, now discussing something stupid about Quidditch practice. They knew I was dying to find out if Harry had the Time-Turner and were purposely withholding the information to annoy and frustrate me — and it was definitely working. Determined not to let them beat me, I listened to them talk until Ron finally told Harry to show me before I exploded.

With a laugh, Harry pulled the Time-Turner out of his pocket and held it up. The tiny glass phial containing the golden sand glinted as the light caught it. I let out a small squeal of joy and hugged Harry tightly before hitting him hard on the arm and admonishing him for winding me up. Ron gave a gruff laugh so I cuffed him, too, laughing in return at his cry of foul play.

I was sure now that my plan would work. We were meant to get the Time-Turner. We were meant to go back in time and change the past. Perhaps the Headmaster and Professor Snape had even left hints that I had subconsciously picked up on, knowing that I would piece them together and come up with a plan. That was why Professor Dumbledore hadn't returned the Time-Turner to the Ministry of Magic, I was certain. He knew we would need it.

Yes, I know, I can see you shaking your head and thinking, is she mad? Thinking she could just waltz back in time and change it without consequences, especially when Professor Croaker's Law says that the furthest a person can travel back without serious chance of injury or of harming time itself is only five hours not almost twenty years.

Of course, you would be absolutely right. But I was filled with the passionate zeal of someone on a quest who knows their path is right and true, even if it appears to others to be completely crazy — and worse still, I had managed to convince my best friends that I was right. There was no one to make us stop and think about the possible consequences of our actions if we got it wrong. The whole thing about stepping on a butterfly and causing the entire world to change was pushed to the back of our minds in the excitement of how we were going to rid the world of Voldemort. 

* * *

I spent every spare minute in the Library — not exactly unusual for me, I know, but I was studying old Arithmancy books and making calculations so I could work out exactly how far I had to go back.

In preparation for the trip the three of us had visited the Room of Requirement, now a storage facility similar to the one in which Harry had placed the Half-Blood Prince's Potions book after his catastrophic and almost deadly fight with Draco Malfoy a few weeks earlier. There we left a stash of things including Harry's Invisibility Cloak, which I could hopefully retrieve once I reached my destination if I required them.

I had no idea how long I would be staying in 1978, but the uniform robes hadn't changed and blue jeans and a plain t-shirt were always acceptable Muggle attire at any time; it wasn't as if I was going to be attending a ball or anything. I was going to get in, assess the situation, do what needed to be done to change the future and get back to my own time as soon as possible.

Harry and Ron were going to cover for me. I would pretend to be ill with a miscellaneous bug and feign the need to stay in bed. They would tell my dorm mates that I had requested to be left alone to sleep it off and to make sure I had closed the curtains around my bed knowing that no one was likely to disturb me. After all, I was only going to be gone for a few minutes at the most at this end, however long it took at the other.

During dinner, I made my way downstairs and waited in the dusky twilight for Harry and Ron to join me outside the castle. I was impressed that Ron had thoughtfully wrapped some food in napkins for me to eat later as I was absolutely starving. It was a small gesture, but one so unusual for him that for a moment I couldn't help but wonder whether what I was going to do would change my friendship with Harry and Ron in some way. But there was no time to waste on that sort of thinking. We still had the plan to run through one more time and it was too late to start doubting it now.

So, trusting that I had done my calculations correctly, and holding tightly onto a suitcase containing a few clothes and some of my more important books, I hugged first Harry and then, for slightly longer, Ron and with a smile, I set the Time-Turner that was hanging around my neck.


	3. Chapter 2

And that could have been it.

If I had got the calculation even the slightest bit wrong I would have winked out of existence in the present but not made it back to the past; a place where I wasn't even born yet. The story would have ended there and the world would have changed in a million ways I couldn't even begin to imagine.

But, of course, it didn't. I hadn't spent all those weeks using Arithmancy to calculate the exact number of turns for nothing.

I couldn't help but blink as I appeared, in the same spot just outside the castle door, the bright sunshine blinding me where only a few seconds before it had been evening. I looked around for a moment, smiling. I had done it. I had gone back in time although of course, I wasn't yet one hundred percent certain that I had got to where I wanted to be. I quickly removed the Time-Turner and put it into the pocket of my robes. I didn't need to get caught with that and have it confiscated or I would be stuck in 1978 forever and I didn't like the idea of that at all.

Putting my suitcase on the floor, I opened it and removed an envelope containing a letter I had written to give to the Headmaster, explaining why I had suddenly appeared at Hogwarts without any prior warning. Picking up the suitcase once more, I opened the door and slowly walked into the entrance hall of the school.

Nothing much had changed. The castle itself was as it had ever been; only the fashions and hairstyles of the 1970s were different and even then it was less noticeable as in the wizarding world many men had always worn their hair long anyway, and punk with its outlandish fashions and hairstyles hadn't troubled it so far. I stopped in the middle of the hall and waited for a teacher to appear.

I could feel the interested stares from students as they passed me on their way to classes or the Library, all checking out the new girl who was arriving so late in the term. Word had obviously got out and it was only a few minutes later that Professor McGonagall, looking somewhat younger and less stern, came hurrying over to me.

As she walked closer, I realised I had made a stupid error. My robes held a Gryffindor badge and yet I was pretending to be new to the school and wouldn't, therefore, have been Sorted. I needed to think quickly. After all, the teacher was sharp as a knife and was unlikely to let something like that pass.

'Can I help you?' Professor McGonagall asked her rich Scottish accent soothing yet still managing to be serious at the same time.

I smiled and held out the letter. 'My name is Hermione Granger,' I said as confidently as I could manage under that stern gaze. 'I have a letter for the Headmaster.'

Professor McGonagall took the letter from me and opened it, taking a moment to read the contents. She looked at me again, then nodded once.

'Follow me, Miss Granger,' Professor McGonagall, said and she led me across the hall towards the gargoyle that stands guard outside the entrance to the Headmaster's study. 'Cockroach Cluster,' she said to the gargoyle, and although it showed no sign of having heard her it shifted to reveal a moving staircase. 'After you,' she added politely, waiting while I climbed onto the bottom stair, then following in a swish of dark green velvet robes.

We said nothing as we ascended the stairs and I began to wonder whether I had made a serious error. I was sure she would comment on the Gryffindor robes. As we reached the door the stairs stopped moving and Professor McGonagall rapped smartly on the wood, waiting for a few seconds before opening it and once again ushering me in ahead of her.

I stopped just inside the door and looked around the Headmaster's study for the first time in my life. Harry had told me about the place so many times that I felt as if I knew it. As I looked around the room, spotting the open cupboard that contained the Sorting Hat, Professor McGonagall strode past me and handed the letter to the long white-haired and bearded wizard in a purple robe who was sitting behind the large desk.

'This is Hermione Granger, Headmaster,' Professor McGonagall said. I stopped looking around the room and moved closer to the desk. 'She is a Muggle-born, but she has, according to the letter, been home-educated in magic. Her parents are anthropologists and have been called away for work.

'They had apparently, intended to complete her schooling at home and have her take her N.E.W.T.s via the Ministry of Magic—' Professor McGonagall's tone made it clear that she felt this was an extremely poor decision— 'but due to their urgent need to travel they have requested that we take Hermione for the rest of the term so she can sit her exams with us while they make arrangements for somewhere for her to stay during the summer holidays.'

Professor Dumbledore had opened the letter and was reading it as Professor McGonagall spoke. He nodded his head a few times, then looked up at me interestedly.

'Please sit down, Miss Granger.' He gave me a warm smile to put me at my ease as I took the seat he indicated. Professor McGonagall took the seat next to me.

'It is most unusual to have someone join us quite so late in their schooling, although not completely unheard of,' Professor Dumbledore admitted as his eyes scanned the letter once again. 'Your father lists the O.W.L.s you received — with some fine scores, I notice — which is extremely good considering that you have been in a Muggle environment and must, therefore, of necessity, have kept your magic hidden. It's a shame that your parents didn't choose to send you to Hogwarts earlier. You certainly seem to have great potential, Miss Granger.'

'My parents were both lecturers at colleges in Oxford,' I began, hoping that my explanation was going to sound believable. 'They have always advocated homeschooling for me as they felt they could provide a better education than most schools — and having had me quite late in life my mother, especially, wasn't eager to let me go away to school.

'Once it became clear that I was different they did considerable research to ensure that I could be properly trained in magic, and fortunately, those old colleges have plenty of free rooms where I could practise in private. To be honest, it was my mother who wanted me to stay at home and I didn't want to upset her. As anthropologists, they had no trouble believing in magic, and I believe my father had had prior dealings with the Ministry of Magic anyway, which gave him the contacts he needed to discover what I would need to be taught.

'I think the original plan was for me to sit the O.W.L.s at the Ministry of Magic and then, because I had expressed an interest in continuing to N.E.W.T. level, they were going to consider my request to be allowed to join Hogwarts so I could finally get some experience of being with other people like me and study the more difficult subjects along with my peers.

'But my mother was taken ill just after I took the exams and I didn't feel that I could leave her or my father, who wasn't really equipped to deal with looking after her, so I ended up continuing my studies on my own, resigned to the fact that I would never get to come to Hogwarts.

'My mother has since recovered and they were offered the chance to go on an expedition to the Amazon delta; the chance of a lifetime for them. I didn't want to stand in their way although it left me somewhat high and dry with regards to my education. As I was still eager to do my N.E.W.T.s, my father spoke to the Ministry of Magic and they suggested that I should come here, even if only for the last few months.' I frowned a little and said anxiously, 'Someone from the Ministry was supposed to warn you I was coming. I don't know who, though, I'm afraid.'

Professor Dumbledore's bright blue eyes twinkled as he watched me carefully while I spoke. I wasn't entirely sure that he believed what I was saying but he seemed to be content to reserve judgement until I had finished or, at least, until he discovered what I was really doing there.

'I'm afraid that communication between the Ministry and Hogwarts quite often breaks down,' he replied pleasantly. 'However, that is of no consequence. We are pleased to accept you here at the school, Miss Granger. We will, of course, have to determine your level of learning to ensure that you are placed in the correct classes, but a simple series of tests on each of the subjects you wish to take should be sufficient. I shall arrange for those to take place tomorrow and then we can integrate you into lessons.'

'Thank you, sir.' My heart was beating faster now. I was nearly in.

'Of course, you will need to be Sorted to decide which House you will be in . . . although I see you appear to have already decided.' Professor Dumbledore looked amused now.

'I read about the four Houses in _Hogwarts: A History_ as I had always dreamed of coming to school here. I have to admit that I liked the sound of Gryffindor the best, so when I bought my robes I bought them without even thinking about it.' I saw Professor McGonagall look pleased as I praised her House. 'I suppose I might not be a Gryffindor, though,' I added, sounding a little glum.

Professor Dumbledore chuckled. 'I think, Miss Granger, that you very probably are a Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat does take your wishes into consideration when choosing and as you are so strongly drawn to that House it is unlikely it will place you elsewhere. However, we will need to check officially.'

He stood up and made his way to the cupboard and pulled out the Sorting Hat where it had been sleeping, or whatever it does when it's not at the welcome feast. He came over to me and placed it on my head. Instantly, my mind was filled with the hat's voice. I hoped desperately that it was talking only to me not to the entire room, otherwise I was going to be in trouble.

'You shouldn't be here,' it said, sounding a little agitated. 'You don't exist yet, not properly. Who are you?'

 _Please don't give away my secret,_ I begged silently. _I'm here to help stop a war but I need be a student now. Please help me._

The hat went completely silent for several minutes as it had done the first time I wore it, although I wasn't sure now whether it was debating where to put me or refusing to Sort me. Just as I was about to panic it spoke once more.

'All right, I'll help you. You seem trustworthy enough. Where do you need to go?'

 _Gryffindor,_ I thought, relieved that this ordeal was almost over. I heard the hat give a small murmur of agreement.

'Gryffindor!' it announced out loud.

Professor Dumbledore looked delighted, as did Professor McGonagall.

'There, it's been decided.' The Headmaster looked at me keenly. 'Professor McGonagall is your Head of House, Miss Granger, and she will show you where you need to go. Any queries regarding school life should be directed to her in the first instance.'

He looked at the teacher for a moment. 'Minerva, would you please escort Miss Granger to the Gryffindor common room and help her to get settled in? I will arrange for the tests she requires to be conducted tomorrow and then we shall decide where best to place her.'

As we stood up ready to leave, he smiled at me. 'Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Granger. I hope we can live up to your expectations.'

'Thank you, sir. I'm very much looking forward to being here,' I said honestly, also smiling.

I was still feeling quite tense, but at least the first bit had gone okay, and I hadn't been caught out in my lie. Now all I had to do was try to get settled into classes and work out what on earth was going on with Professor Snape, the Marauders and Lily. Then I had to work out what I needed to do to change the future so Voldemort would no longer be a threat. 

* * *

Integrating into this Gryffindor House turned out to be far easier than I had anticipated. I was placed in Lily's Evans' dorm and she, Lianne Abbott and Ottily Shafiq, the other occupants of the room, were all friendly and helpful to me. I hadn't been entirely sure this would be the case knowing how bitchy girls can be sometimes, especially those in long-established cliques.

The tests went well, of course, and I soon found myself in Lily's class for most of my lessons. She took me under her wing, happy to show me where the classrooms were as I was supposed to be a stranger to the castle and providing all sorts of useful information on both teachers and pupils.

Of course, that meant it wasn't long before I met the Marauders, too, as James spent a lot of time trying to be where Lily was and the others always followed his lead. It was strange at first, seeing the couple together and spotting the mixture of them that was the son who was my best friend and also to see Sirius again, who was even more debonair and devil-may-care than I remembered. But soon I became used to them and began to realise that I didn't actually like them very much.

To be fair, Remus was lovely — every bit as mild-mannered and pleasant as I remembered him as a teacher — but even in this time, there was something careworn and nervous about him. Despite being a Prefect he would never go against anything his group of friends did, regardless of how mean or stupid they were being.

Peter was as big a creep as you would ever expect from a boy who went on to betray his friends for his own gain, and I had no time for him at all. James and Sirius were bullies, pure and simple. Both of them thought they were God's gift to the world which made it all so much worse, especially when they spent most of their time bullying the one person I actually found I liked . . . the future Professor Snape.

I have to admit here that I hadn't expected to like Severus Snape much. Although I was aware that his attitude in my time at school had been shaped by years of war and double-dealing, and probably by his disappointment at losing Lily and the way he had been treated by the Marauders, he had never come across as a particularly pleasant person and I had intended to view him from afar rather than actually get to know him.

It was through Lily, on one of those days when she was talking to Severus, that I met and got talking to him. I couldn't help but instantly feel sorry for him because he was so obviously enamoured by the pretty redhead that he couldn't see what she was doing to him.

I discovered that once you got past Severus' obsessive desire for Lily he was actually a pleasant and extremely clever boy. He was intensely private, though, and it took quite some effort to get him to open up and talk. I think me being a friend of Lily's helped with that. However, we seemed to get on well enough and having discovered a couple of classes I was taking with him that Lily wasn't in, he soon became my work partner.

This didn't endear me to James and Sirius, who seemed to think I should fall into line and hate Severus purely because they didn't like him and couldn't understand why I was happy to be seen with him outside of classes. Fortunately, they didn't go as far as bullying me about it, but they made it clear every time I was in their company that I was considered a bit of a freak for wanting to talk to Severus.

As my time in 1978 went on, I really couldn't understand why Lily liked James so much when Severus was a much nicer person. Whilst I was aware that they had to be a couple for Harry to exist, I really hated the way Lily treated her former boyfriend. I was right about that, they had been a couple and, as I had suspected, Severus' memory showed the ending of their relationship.

Eventually, her behaviour irked me so much that I confronted her about it, determined to get her to stop stringing Severus along.

'How can you treat him like this?' I asked Lily coldly one afternoon while we had a free period. 'You know how Severus feels about you, and all you do is play him off against James.'

Lily looked uncomfortable. 'I'm in love with James,' she admitted. 'I used to really like Sev. I mean, I always thought we'd end up married, but then he started hanging around with those weird Slytherin friends of his and getting just like them, and I couldn't be with him anymore.'

'But that was when you should have stood by him,' I said, trying not to get annoyed with her although it was almost impossible. 'You should have at least tried to convince him not to remain friends with them, not just stand by and let James and his friends bully him.'

'He called me a Mudblood,' Lily said unhappily. 'I thought Sev loved me, yet he called me that . . . that awful name. You have no idea how much that hurt, Hermione.'

'I understand why you were upset at the time but I think you both acted a bit rashly,' I told her honestly. 'I know Severus really regrets what he said to you. I get that he upset you, but you playing him all the time is just plain mean, Lily. Don't you think you've punished him enough?'

'I'm not trying to punish him,' Lily said, but I saw the blush spreading to her cheeks which told me she was at least partly lying.

It was possible that she didn't realise how Severus was being affected by what she was doing to him but I didn't believe it. I had seen her in action and knew that on occasion she had gone all out to try to tempt him, only to drop him when he reacted in a manner all too predictable.

I really liked Severus and was feeling outraged on his behalf at Lily's attitude towards him. I suddenly knew, too, that the longer I was spending with her and the Marauders, the less I liked any of them.

I could see how Lily's behaviour was enough to keep Severus hanging on a rope, ever hopeful that she might finally decide to leave James for him. But it was never going to happen. He would spend his life pining for the love that he would never again have and eventually, his bitterness would lead him to do something terrible, something that would lead to the deaths of Lily and James.

The problem was, the way I was beginning to feel about the couple I wasn't really unhappy with the idea of them dying — oh God, I know that sounds awful, but it's true. It went against the whole point of what I had come here to do, and I was thinking horrible thoughts about my best friends' parents.

It was clear that I had been here too long. Somehow I needed to break the connection between Lily and Severus, make sure that it was permanent, and then get the hell out of Dodge before I ended up doing something really stupid myself.

'You like him, don't you?' Lily asked, cutting through my thoughts. I nodded but didn't reply. 'I know he's a good guy,' Lily continued, 'but—'

Before she could complete the sentence the room was filled with the noise of boys. The Marauders had joined us and any chance for a sensible conversation was gone.

'Well, if it isn't the prettiest girls in Gryffindor,' Sirius said, giving a low, rather ostentatious bow as he came towards us.

He reached out and grabbed my hand and planted a kiss on it. I tried not to look disgusted as I pulled my hand away.

'Leave them alone, Padfoot,' James said drolly. He ran his hand through his hair, an annoying habit that I had noticed he often did when he was around girls. 'No one's impressed with your faux chivalry.' He sat down and put his arm loosely around Lily's shoulders.

'So when are you going to let me take you out, Hermione?' Sirius asked.

I looked at him in amazement, trying not to laugh. 'Try never,' I said. 'I'm really not interested, Sirius. Thanks all the same.'

I had to give Sirius credit for not giving up. A moment later he had tried to collar me in the same way James had with Lily, but realising what he was up to I ducked and moved out of his way.

'I need to go to the Library,' I said quickly as I stood up. 'I'll see you later, Lily.' I walked away before Sirius had a chance to catch me again.

Once in the Library, I headed as I always tended to do to the back corner of the room and sat down with a random book to try to figure out my next move. Lily was in love with James, she had admitted that to me, but unless I could find a way to intervene she obviously had no intention of telling Severus that.

Somehow I had to show him that she was stringing him along, make him realise that there was no future for the two of them and get him to move on with his life. But how?


	4. Chapter 3

"How" turned out to be through seducing Severus myself, although I swear I honestly hadn't intended that to be the outcome and it didn't make things any easier for me. The breakthrough had come one afternoon when I once again caught Lily winding Severus up before James and Sirius took over with one of their tag-team bullying tactics.

As I said previously, I was pretty pissed off with all of them by this point and I really wasn't in the mood for watching them torture someone I considered to be a friend.

'What do you think you're doing?' I asked angrily as I marched towards James and Severus, who were pointing their wands at each other — a standard interact between them, I had discovered.

'We're just trying to get Snivellus to leave Lily alone once and for all,' Sirius said, trying to stop me from moving towards the fighting boys.

'Maybe you should talk to Lily rather than Severus about it, then,' I suggested coolly. 'After all, she does spend an inordinate amount of time leading him on for someone who isn't interested anymore.'

I completely ignored both Sirius' arm and the filthy look that Lily shot me at my comment and continued to walk towards James and Severus.

'Why haven't you stopped them, Remus?' I asked, trying to sound more sympathetic than disgusted. I'm not sure I succeeded because Remus winced as I spoke to him.

'It's not that easy, Hermione,' he explained. 'You don't understand because you've only just got here; there's long-held enmity between them that can't be got rid of that easily.'

'I know there's a lot of bullying and it always seems to go one way,' I retorted. 'I can only assume it's because you're all jealous of Severus for being a much better wizard than the rest of you.'

I saw Severus smirk at that comment — not his finest moment, I'll admit, because I didn't need him getting cocky — as the others all blustered angrily about how they were actually better than him.

Unfortunately, I had heard enough rubbish from Sirius and James to last a lifetime. Without even thinking about it I gave away a secret from the future, something I should never have known.

'For your information, Severus has more power in his little finger than you two between you,' I told them scornfully. 'One day in the future Severus will be one of the most powerful wizards in the world. He's going to have the power to save or kill hundreds of people — and you lot are going to affect what he does because of the way you act now.'

Fortunately, I managed to stop myself before adding that neither James nor Sirius would still be alive, but the damage was already done. How could I know what Severus was going to be in the future? It wasn't possible unless I was a Seer — and we all know exactly what my feelings are about them.

'Talking bollocks again, Hermione,' Sirius announced sneeringly.

I shrugged, trying to pretend that it was an easy guess. 'Perhaps, but it's not really a difficult prediction to make, is it, Sirius? Severus doesn't spend all his time being a complete prat and mucking around like you and James do. He's a far better student than both of you.'

'He's a Dark wizard, you mean,' James said in disgust.

'Well . . . he thinks he is. They wouldn't want him either,' Sirius answered in a jokey manner.

The pair of them laughed nastily and Severus scowled deeply; his wand twitching.

'He's better than both of you combined,' I told them angrily.

'Perhaps you should have joined Slytherin rather than Gryffindor seeing as you like snakes so much, Hermione,' Sirius said bitterly. 'I suppose you wish that Snivelly was your boyfriend, do you?'

He was obviously still annoyed that I had refused to go out with him again and was using it as a dig at me, although I didn't really care. I realised that everyone was staring at me, waiting avidly for my answer, so I decided to tell the truth.

'I would be honoured to be Severus' girlfriend,' I admitted, smiling at the expression of disgust that crossed Sirius' face at this news. Of course, I couldn't just stop there. 'Although to be honest, Sirius, I'd probably consider going out with the Giant Squid before I'd consider you or any of the rest of your little gang. You may be Gryffindors but you don't act like it, apart from your rashness.

'Maybe if you spent a bit more time getting to know Severus rather than bullying him for not being one of your little clique you might discover that he's a useful person to know, and as Lily knows but tries to keep hidden from you, that he's a really nice person beneath the hard front he has to put up because of tossers like you.

'Of course, I don't expect you to take any notice of anything I say, just as you never take any notice of anyone. Two arseholes from privileged backgrounds who know they're better than everyone else even when they aren't, are never going to bother checking their privilege to see if they might have got it wrong. They'll just blame everyone else, and their friends will do the same because they're too scared to stand up to them.'

I looked around disgustedly at the group of Gryffindors all staring at me in anger, James and Sirius both annoyed at what I had said and the others siding with their friends — of course.

'Look at you, all looking so put out because I've dared to criticise you.' I shook my head in disgust. 'You all deserve each other.'

I walked to Severus and took his hand, lowering his wand arm as I did so. 'Let's go, Severus.'

Amazingly, he didn't argue but put his wand in his pocket and still holding hands we crossed the hall, ignoring the comments the Marauders were making about us.

'Why did you stand up for me?' he asked once we were well away from the others.

'Because I don't like what they do to you — I don't like what Lily does to you.'

I saw the look of pain in Severus' eyes. 'I sometimes think I deserve it after what I said to her,' he said quietly.

I shook my head. 'You were angry and upset and you accidentally said something you shouldn't have. I understand why it upset her, Sev. It would have upset me, too. But if she had the sort of feelings for you that want her to have, she would have forgiven you when you apologised. Instead, she leads you on and then leaves you hanging, or worse still drops you completely, and then James and Sirius step in and use it as an excuse to bully you.

'That's not love, Sev. It's not even the actions of a friend; not a true friend. I know you don't want to but you have to accept that Lily is in love with James now, and nothing you can ever say or do is going to change that. It's the real thing for them. But as long as you give her the opportunity, Lily is always going to hurt you.'

I could tell that Severus wasn't very happy with my assessment of the situation but at least he didn't storm away or get angry with me. Instead, he just absorbed it as he seemed to do with everything that came his way, whether positive or negative.

'I get the impression you're not keen on Black,' he said after we had walked for a few minutes in silence.

'No. Unfortunately not. I thought they were all going to be great but it turns out they're a bunch of arseholes.'

Severus looked confused and when he spoke again I reminded myself chidingly that I needed to be careful of what I talked about around him. He was exceedingly clever and picked up on everything I said.

'Had you already heard of them before you joined the school, then?' he asked, sounding surprised. 'I thought you were brought up in the Muggle world and didn't know anything about Hogwarts or the people.'

I thought quickly, trying to cover. 'Oh, I didn't know them before I joined but they were all in the common room when Professor McGonagall took me in there to introduce me. They were all really friendly — a real laugh — and as they were good friends of Lily's and I had just been put in her dorm, I thought they were going to be pretty cool so I was quite excited to be friends with them.

'Unfortunately, it didn't take me long to realise what they were really like and they're not the sort of people I particularly want to be friends with. I don't think Sirius is very happy with me because he keeps asking me out and I keep saying no. I think telling him that I'd rather date the Giant Squid might have been the last straw as far as he was concerned.'

Severus smiled at my grin as I said this. He studied me for a minute, then said, 'You told him you'd be honoured to go out with me. I think that would probably be worse than the Giant Squid in Black's eyes.'

I shrugged. 'Sirius thinks far too much of himself.'

'Would you?' Severus asked suddenly. He pulled me to a stop and stared at me so intently I could feel myself beginning to blush although I had no idea why.

'Would I what?' I asked.

'Would you go out with me?' Severus said the words almost hesitantly as if worried I was going to reject him.

I could feel my heart start to thunder in my chest, it was beating so hard, and I was amazed at the strength of the wave of feeling that rushed through me like a tsunami at his words. I knew I liked Severus but I had never realised until that moment just how much I liked him.

I nodded before I spoke as my voice seemed to have disappeared in the excitement.

The yes came out as a weird squeal, followed by an embarrassed cough, then finally I expelled the word so forcefully it was almost enough to knock him off his feet.

With a smile more beautiful than I had ever seen on him in the weeks I had known his younger self, Severus wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly, and he kissed me.

I would like to say that the earth moved or something equally trite, but it didn't, not really, although the kiss was extraordinarily good. To be fair, I wasn't the world's greatest judge of kissing having only ever snogged one other person — the Bulgarian Quidditch player, Viktor Krum, who was pretty magnificent, I had thought at the time. But Severus' kiss was head and shoulders above that of Viktor's. It left a funny tingling feeling in my stomach and on my lips, and as soon as it was over I wanted it to happen again.

Fortunately, it appeared that Severus was as keen on kissing as I was, so several others soon followed, interspersed only by us moving into an alcove so we were away from prying eyes. Although this had never been part of my plan I found it hard to care about the fact that I was so completely changing the past with my actions. I was enjoying being with Severus far too much.

I didn't care in the following weeks either, as our relationship became stronger, particularly in the face of opposition from certain members of Gryffindor who weren't at all happy at my alliance with their most hated enemy. Lily wasn't happy either. Being with me had given Severus what he needed to break away from her and she missed the attention. She may not have been in love with Severus anymore but she sure as hell liked having him around at her beck and call whenever she was in the mood. Now he was my boyfriend he had no time for her, and it was clearly hurting her.

It had soured our relationship somewhat, although she tried to put up a friendly front when we were with Lianne and Ottily, who were both surprised but quite excited to discover that Severus and I were an item. It also had the knock-on effect of almost completely stopping the bullying by the Marauders. Now Severus wasn't trying to spend time with Lily they had no good excuse to keep on with it without it being obvious that they were being completely petty. This, in turn, made for a much calmer atmosphere, even if Sirius was completely ignoring me now.

I have to admit that I wasn't really bothered what anyone thought of me. I had succeeded in my quest to stop Severus pining over Lily and still suspected that this behaviour had been connected to what had happened later with Voldemort, so I had to have changed something there. While I wasn't confident that I could stop Severus from becoming a Death Eater I could certainly make him think twice about it and that might be enough to stop whatever had happened to set in motion the deaths of Lily and James.

There was still the problem of Pettigrew being a traitor, which I longed to point out to his friends, but I was aware that with the way they felt about me now they would never believe me. Still, I would attempt to sow that seed just before I left.

My work was actually almost done and could have been concluded as soon as I wanted; the problem was, I didn't want to leave Severus. He had turned out to be so warm and caring, in complete contrast to the way he acted and looked in public, and I was falling in love with him.

I have to admit the thought did cross my mind once or twice to stay there with him in 1978 and forget about my life in the future, but that was only ever a pipe dream and I had already messed with time too much to be allowed to follow that dream. I had to force myself to prepare to leave, knowing that however much I didn't want it to, my going would upset Severus and might be enough to set him on the path I had been so keen for him not to tread. 

* * *

It was because I knew Severus would be upset at my leaving that I decided to have sex with him. I know that sounds pretty contrary, and it was to some extent, but I was desperate to let him know I hadn't left him because I wanted to be away from him but because I had no choice. Although I no longer had any desire to I had to return to the future, and I couldn't tell Severus what was happening or why. Unfortunately, our love story was doomed, destined to be sacrificed for the greater good so Voldemort would no longer terrorise our world and Harry would be free.

Having fallen quite so hard for Severus, it seemed like a massive sacrifice to have to make but although it made me unhappy I knew there was no other choice. So I clung to my boyfriend in those last few days, trying to get as much from the relationship as I could, knowing it had to end soon.

When Severus first suggested spending some time alone in the Room of Requirement, which had very thoughtfully provided us with a bed, I was a little reluctant being that I was still a virgin and knowing that this relationship was truly going nowhere. But this was the way to prove to Severus that I loved him, so we spent first a free afternoon there and then, unknown to everyone but the two of us, we spent a whole night together, sneaking out of our common rooms when the rest of the school was asleep, terrified that we would be caught before we reached our goal.

I am not going to say what we did, as it was a private thing that only we should know about, but I am sure that by the time we sneaked back to our respective Houses the following morning Severus knew I was in love with him every bit as much as I was aware that he was in love with me. It was almost enough to make me change my mind about leaving, but my sense of duty overcame all else so I set my final plans into action — although after that perfect night together we spent as much time alone as we could get away with, which slowed them down a little.

First, I talked to Remus, the only one of the Marauders who would actually converse with me anymore, and tried to drop hints about Peter although that was hard to do without Remus thinking it was just sour grapes on my part because of my declining relationship with them all. I also talked to Lily, trying to make her see that what she had been doing to Severus was unfair and was pushing him towards places she didn't want him to go — like towards becoming a Death Eater.

I was hopeful that I had given her enough to enable her to turn Severus into a friend now that the Marauders had stopped their attacks on him and he might then be persuaded to join the Order of the Phoenix rather than Voldemort. With all my seeds planted and ready to bear fruit, it was time for me to turn the clock forward and see if my work had been successful. As I prepared to leave, meaning to slip away unnoticed, I realised that there was one glaringly obvious thing I had missed that had fallen into place only now. I had to do something about it although at that moment I had no idea what.

While I had been planning the mission I had always known that Severus had been connected to Lily and James and also to the prophecy that had ended up killing them and making Harry the Chosen One, but I had never been able to work out how. Suddenly I understood, although I still have no idea how, that Severus had somehow overheard the prophecy while he was working for Voldemort and had told him about it, not realising that his beloved Lily and her husband James along, with their baby son, Harry, were the subjects of it.

This sudden revelation stunned me. It meant that unless Severus could be guaranteed not to side with Voldemort the events of Harry's past would still play out, albeit slightly differently because of the hints I had sown. It was possible that nothing would change and everything I had been through and the heartbreak I was about to suffer at having to leave Severus would all be for nothing.

There was only one way I could guarantee that Severus wouldn't pass on the prophecy but I couldn't tell him about the time travel and I was aware that spouting still more predictions about prophecies was going to seem like madness. I could only hope that with my imminent departure Severus would understand that I had been trying to help.

I should have crept away during a free period, a letter to Professor Dumbledore explaining that I had left the school and not to worry about me already with an owl, timed to be delivered at the end of the day's classes so that Professor McGonagall would be aware before dinnertime came around and my absence was discovered by the rest of my dorm.

But I wanted to see Severus one last time and the prophecy and his role in what had followed were preying on my mind. I couldn't leave without trying to warn him or without saying goodbye. I waited for him to come out of his last lesson and urged him to follow me to a secluded area where we could talk and kiss and I could say goodbye.

I think he knew something was wrong. I was quite tense as I was already trying to prepare myself for the Time-Turner journey, and I was trying not to cry. He asked me several times what was wrong but I wasn't ready to speak, unable to admit that I was leaving him alone to face the Marauders and Lily and whatever the rest of their life would hold now that I had interfered with it.

We kissed quite a lot and with each one I could feel my resolve draining away. If I stayed I could make sure that Severus didn't side with Voldemort and I could keep him away from the prophecy. But the truth was that I had already been there too long and had already changed far more than I should have. If I kept tinkering, eventually I would go too far and it would all unravel, time bending and twisting to return to its original timeline, and Merlin only knew what would happen to me then.

I had to leave, and soon.

'Please tell me what's the matter, Hermione,' Severus requested anxiously when my silence as I tried to pluck up the courage to tell him I was leaving failed.

I stared at him miserably but still couldn't speak.

'Is it something to do with Black and his cronies? Have they been saying something to upset you?'

'No,' I assured him. 'It's nothing to do with them. It's to do with us.'

I saw Severus' face drop at my words. I could hear he was having trouble keeping his voice steady as he asked, 'You don't want to be my girlfriend any longer?'

I closed my eyes for a moment to give me the strength to do what had to be done, then looked into his black eyes, not hiding the tears that were welling.

'I love you so much but I have to leave,' I told him in a whisper. 'I am so sorry, my love. I wasn't supposed to stay so long but I couldn't help it — I didn't want to leave you. But I have to go. I can't stay any longer, but I had to see you before I went. I didn't want to just disappear without speaking to you first.'

Severus studied me in confusion. I knew I was making no sense whatsoever but I couldn't tell him the truth, and I had to leave before I crumbled completely and made a stupid decision I would later regret. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly, the pain in my heart easing slightly as I felt him hold me back.

'I have to leave you now, but please promise me one thing,' I said quietly as I pulled away from him. 'Don't pass the prophecy on to Voldemort.'

Severus looked at me quizzically. 'What prophecy? And why would I tell He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named about it?' he asked, his voice a little sharper than I had expected. I had obviously hurt him more than I thought. I tried not to wince.

'I know it makes absolutely no sense at the moment but one day you're going to hear a prophecy,' I said, aware that time was fast running out. 'Whatever happens, please don't pass the details on. It's really important that you don't.'

Severus frowned. 'Does this have something to do with what you said before about me being one of the most powerful wizards in the world one day? About all those people dying?'

I nodded, unable to speak for a moment. I knew I had to leave . . . now.

Grabbing Severus' hand, I squeezed it gently.

'I have to go,' I said, aware that my voice had a somewhat desperate quality to it. 'But please, Sev, remember what I've told you.'

Severus held onto my hand for a moment. 'Do you have to go?' His voice was soft but held a note of resignation and for a moment I got the impression that he knew I wasn't from his time.

I nodded again, a lump in my throat making me suddenly unable to speak, and he let go of my hand and stepped back to give me space.

'Take care, Hermione,' he said quietly, and turning, he walked away down the corridor.

I watched him for a moment, hoping that he would turn back to look at me, but he didn't. Now I really had to leave. I turned the corner and raced along the corridor, heading out of the castle to find the spot where I had arrived what seemed like months ago but in reality would only be minutes.

The sun was setting as I pulled the Time-Turner from the pocket of my robes and put it around my neck, then calming myself for a moment so that I could concentrate on the exact number of turns, I sent myself forward to 1997.


	5. Chapter 4

It was still evening, just a little darker than it had been when I left. Once again I stashed the Time-Turner in my pocket and headed into the castle. I knew that Harry and Ron would still be in the Great Hall having dinner. It was where I had arranged to meet them when I recovered from my 'illness'.

The Entrance Hall was as I remembered it, the giant glass vials with the gleaming gemstones of the four Houses: ruby for Gryffindor, topaz for Hufflepuff, sapphire for Ravenclaw and emerald for Slytherin, dominating the room as they had always done. Glancing at them, I realised that Gryffindor was in second place behind Ravenclaw. At least Slytherin wasn't winning.

I crossed the hall and opened the door to the Great Hall and slipped into the room, looking around me as I went. There were still a lot of students eating and the noise of various conversations filled the air. I glanced up at the head table. There was no one I didn't recognise and the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, was in deep conversation with Severus . . . sorry . . . Professor Snape.

The sight of my ex-boyfriend so changed in the short time I had been away from him, was more of a shock than I had expected. But of course, almost twenty years had passed since we parted in that corridor, and although I hadn't changed, he certainly had.

Unobtrusively, I made my way to where Harry and Ron were sitting at the Gryffindor table and looked eagerly at my two friends trying to determine whether what I had done in the past had changed them at all. Harry was reading the newspaper, but I didn't think I could take credit for that.

'Don't just stand there gawping,' Ron hissed, grabbing my arm and pulling me down to sit next to him. 'People will wonder what on earth is the matter with you.'

Harry glanced up from the newspaper. 'Are you feeling better now, Hermione?' he asked.

A sly glance around the table made me realise we were being observed and therefore we weren't free to talk.

'Yes, thank you. I told you I just needed to sleep it off. I think I'll try a glass of pumpkin juice. I'm feeling a little dehydrated now.'

As I turned to pick up the jug of pumpkin juice I looked again at the head table. Professors Dumbledore and Snape had finished their conversation and the Headmaster had turned to his right and was now talking to Professor McGonagall.

Professor Snape was staring at me.

It appeared to me that he looked no different now than he had before my visit to 1978. Nothing in his demeanour or actions seemed changed, although the look on his face made me wonder whether he was remembering me and the things we had done — for him all those years ago, for me barely hours. There was no way of telling what he was thinking with that scowl, always so prevalent — that definitely hadn't changed. If anything, it was worse than I remembered.

I tore my gaze away from him and glanced around the table, looking at the rest of the staff. The teachers appeared a little more tired, maybe, and perhaps the atmosphere of the room didn't have as carefree a quality about it, but other than that I appeared to have changed nothing.

Feeling a bit annoyed I picked up the pumpkin juice jug and turned away from the head table, my hand shaking a little as I poured the drink into my glass.

'Do you think you'll be able to join us?' Ron asked.

I looked at him quizzically. My mind hadn't been on his and Harry's conversation at all. It had been firmly on Professor Snape.

'Join you where?' I asked.

Ron sighed. 'Weren't you listening, Hermione? We were talking about the summer holidays. Harry's not sure what his parents are doing, so he's going to come to the Burrow. We were wondering whether you'd be able to make it, too.'

My heart flipped at the mention of Harry's parents. They were still alive! I _had_ made a difference after all. I hadn't changed Professor Snape, but Harry's parents were alive. I had almost missed the last part of the sentence in my euphoria, but fortunately, it did filter through.

'Of course I'll be able to make it,' I said happily.

Everything was good. I had stopped Professor Snape telling Voldemort about the prophecy and Harry's parents were alive. With their help, the Order of the Phoenix would have been victorious in getting rid of Voldemort. I had done it . . . no, _we_ had done it. I had to remember that Harry and Ron had helped me to achieve this. It wasn't all my own work.

Harry and Ron were both staring at me, seeming surprised.

'Are you sure you're all right?' Harry asked.

'Yes,' I said, feeling a little annoyed at the questioning. Of course I was all right. I was better than all right.

'Why are you grinning like a maniac?' Ron asked.

'Well, you know . . .' I said quietly.

Harry and Ron looked at me in confusion. I thought about it for a second. Actually, perhaps they didn't know. Maybe they had forgotten about the Time-Turner when I had changed things. Maybe I was the only one who still remembered the original timeline.

I glanced at the head table again. Professor Snape was still looking at me — and still scowling.

'Nothing's changed there, then,' I said indicating the teacher. 'I see Sev . . . Professor Snape's as happy as ever.'

Harry looked at me bemused. Even Ron had a strange look on his face.

'Are you sure you're okay, Hermione?' Harry asked worriedly.

'You didn't bang your head or something while you were in bed, did you?' Ron asked.

'Of course I'm okay,' I replied tartly. 'Why?'

'You're acting funny,' Harry said a touch nervously.

'Funny how?' I asked anxiously.

Surely I wouldn't have changed that much, would I? I was aware that people had been seriously injured using a Time-Turner beyond the suggested five-hour timescale but I was certain I hadn't been damaged. Even my memory was completely intact.

'The things you're saying,' Ron shot back. 'To be honest, you sound a bit mental.'

'Like what?' I was getting confused now as well as worried.

'Well, for starters, you saying that Professor Snape is as happy as ever. You know how worried he is, how worried they all are about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,' Harry said quietly. 'You know that normally he's nothing like that. Professor Snape has always been the nicest teacher. Helpful, friendly and usually up for a laugh . . . but with everything that's going on at the moment he's obviously going to be bad-tempered.'

'Mind you, he does seem worse tonight,' Ron said worriedly, looking at the teacher. 'Do you think they've had more bad news?'

Harry gestured at the newspaper. 'When is there anything but bad news these days?' he asked glumly. 'And I really don't think you will be able to get to the Burrow during the holidays, Hermione.'

'Why not?'

Something in the pit of my stomach was gnawing away. Maybe I had missed something. Maybe the atmosphere in here was more charged than I had thought.

Harry pointed to the newspaper once more. 'They're cracking down on the movements of Muggle-borns,' he said glumly. 'I don't think you'd be safe at the Burrow, even if you could get there in the first place.'

'Can I look at that?' I asked, taking the newspaper from Harry.

I closed it and looked at the front page. A huge picture took up most of the available space. I could feel my blood turning to ice as I looked at it. It was the Dark Mark I had seen once before, at the Quidditch World Cup back in my fourth year. I flicked through the pages, quickly scanning them, reading the stories of bloodshed and terror and with a sinking feeling, I realised that nowhere in the whole newspaper was there any mention of a Chosen One or even anything to do with Harry.

Whatever I had achieved back in 1978 hadn't stopped Voldemort from attaining power. All I had done with my interfering was to remove our one chance of beating him by stopping the creation of the Chosen One. Dropping the newspaper back on the table, I tried to ignore the huge lead weight in my stomach. I picked up my glass of pumpkin juice and sipped at it as I tried to think.

'I don't think you are all right, you know,' Ron said. He was looking at me as if I had two heads.

'I'm fine, Ronald,' I snapped. 'I'm just trying to think.'

'Think about what?' Ron glared at me for calling him Ronald.

'Perhaps she's trying to think of a way to get to the Burrow,' Harry suggested.

Ron looked worried at the suggestion.

I shook my head impatiently. 'No, not that. I've got something more important to think about first. How are your parents, Harry?'

Harry looked surprised for a second. 'They're okay,' he said slowly, 'at least as far as I'm aware they are. Why?'

'Just wondering,' I said flippantly. 'Don't worry, I didn't mean anything bad by it. Look, I need to go to the Library. I'll see you back in the common room later.'

I saw Ron roll his eyes as I mentioned the Library but he didn't say anything. But he, Harry and Professor Snape all watched me suspiciously as I left the room.

I made my way to the Library as quickly as I could. I needed some thinking time and some breathing space. If what I was beginning to suspect really had happened, I hadn't improved things at all. In fact, I had actually made them much worse.

I took a seat at a small table towards the back of the Library in a secluded corner. I pulled a couple of books from the shelves at random, one of which was open on the table in case Madam Pince decided to check up on me. Leaning on my elbows, I blew air over my fingers as I considered the present I had created.

It seemed clear that my interaction with Severus in 1978 had caused him to take a different path. That he was such a nice teacher and well-liked by Harry and Ron must have meant he had settled his differences with the Marauders as I had hoped he would. Obviously, after I left he hadn't gone after Lily again, leaving her to James . . . and he hadn't told Voldemort of the prophecy either. He had heeded my final words to him. That, too, was clear from the fact that Harry still had his parents and hadn't become the Chosen One.

But had Severus joined Voldemort as he had in the original timeline? Or had he gone straight into the Order of the Phoenix with the Marauders and Lily? That was something I was unlikely to find out. I was hardly going to ask him.

So Voldemort had risen to power and taken control of the Ministry. Without the Chosen One he created from hearing the prophecy, there had been no one to stop him and he hadn't been defeated back in the early eighties. His grip on the wizarding world was almost complete. He'd had years to insinuate himself into the lives of everyone and without Severus at his side to spy for the Order of the Phoenix they had been unable to do anything to fight him.

Had he taken control of the school, too? Probably not, otherwise Professor Dumbledore wouldn't still have been Headmaster. But his influence did extend into the school, which is what was causing the teachers to worry. Unsurprising, really, if the Muggle-borns were being segregated outside. It would only be a matter of time before someone like Lucius Malfoy tried to get Hogwarts to enforce the same rules.

Were there teachers loyal to Voldemort already working at the school? I hadn't seen anyone I didn't recognise, but that didn't mean anything. Maybe they just weren't at dinner or teachers I had known and trusted for years had turned out to be traitors . . . or cowards.

For some reason, Dolores Umbridge popped into my head. The woman had been a complete menace during our fifth year at Hogwarts. She had come to the school at the request of the then Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, a paranoid and self-deluded wizard who was convinced that Professor Dumbledore was raising an army to overthrow him and take power.

Of course, in reality, the Headmaster had been trying to raise awareness of the return of Voldemort, but Fudge wasn't in the frame of mind to believe the truth. Dolores Umbridge had initially been employed as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and proceeded to ban us from actually using magic concentrating instead, on a written curriculum.

We, of course, were aware of Voldemort's return after Harry told us what had happened to him at the climax of the Triwizard Tournament. Worried that we weren't being taught properly how to defend ourselves in the wake of the death of one of the other contestants, Cedric Diggory, we set up a secret club where we could learn proper defensive spells. In the Headmaster's honour we had called it Dumbledore's Army, or the D.A. for short.

I paused in my thoughts for a second. Defensive spells. Had Dolores Umbridge been a teacher at this Hogwarts? Had she stopped the students learning how to use defensive magic? Had there even been a D.A.?

Harry and Ron seemed scared about the attacks that were taking place outside of Hogwarts. This was understandable, of course, but the old Harry and Ron, although scared, would never have shown it — they would have been ready to fight. Somehow I got the impression that this Harry and Ron wouldn't be up for that.

I closed the volume and returned the books to their shelves before heading out of the Library and back towards the Gryffindor common room. I had a couple of questions to ask Harry and Ron that I thought would confirm what I suspected, and then . . . well, then I had to go and see the Headmaster. I had to explain to him what I had done and hope he would know of a way to put right what I had made so dreadfully wrong.

Harry and Ron were playing wizard chess when I entered the common room. It was fairly quiet in there; most people seemed to have gone to their rooms. I pulled up a chair and watched them play for a while.

'Did you get what you wanted in the Library?' Ron asked as he watched his bishop viciously attack Harry's Queen.

'Yes, I think so,' I said musingly. I looked around the room. Seamus and Dean were playing cards by the fire. 'Where's Neville this evening?'

Harry frowned as he looked at me. 'Who?'

Ron gave me another of those two-head looks.

'Neville Longbottom,' I said, a sliver of ice running through me suddenly.

Harry shrugged and frowned. 'Never heard of him. Perhaps you need to go to the Hospital Wing, Hermione.'

'Longbottom.' Ron said the word slowly as if he was tasting it. He frowned, too. 'There were some Longbottoms. Aurors, I think. The whole family was killed by Death Eaters quite a few years ago. Was that who you meant?'

I shook my head quickly. 'No, oh . . . I don't know who I meant. Perhaps his name wasn't Neville. I must have been thinking of someone else.'

Inside, I could feel a small tug of pain at the knowledge of Neville's death but I had to keep it hidden. I could see Harry and Ron weren't convinced. I needed to try another tack.

'You know, I'm not sure I am feeling okay,' I said honestly. The strange looks were immediately replaced by concern. 'I've got a really bad headache and it's making me misremember things. Have we got Defence Against the Dark Arts homework to do tonight?'

Ron gave a small snort of derision. 'Yes, but I wouldn't worry about it. We've just got to read chapter ten of _Advanced Theory of Defensive Spells_ and summarise it. I know you've already read the book cover-to-cover, so I'm sure once your headache goes you'll remember it. You should go to the Hospital Wing, though, Hermione. Madam Pomfrey will be able to give you something for your headache.'

'Perhaps you're right. I should go and see her,' I agreed. 'I'll go there now.'

'Do you want us to come with you?' Ron asked, although his tone suggested he was hoping I would say no and had given the offer automatically because he felt he had to, rather than because he was particularly worried about me going there alone.

I shook my head. 'No, you finish your game. I'm sure I won't be long.'

Leaving them to their chess, I left through the portrait hole and headed not as I had told Harry and Ron, to the Hospital Wing, but to the Headmaster's study to talk to him about what I was now sure had happened. I could feel the dread building up inside me with each step I took. I had illegally messed with time and had made things even worse than they had been before.

I would be punished, of that I was certain. But what if Professor Dumbledore couldn't put things right? What if the world was going to have to stay this dark and scary place that I had created? It honestly didn't bear thinking about.


	6. Chapter 5

I have often thought that Professor Dumbledore's power is greater than any of us know and that he is always aware of what is going on in the school, almost in a symbiotic fashion. He certainly knew I was coming to see him as the gargoyle guard jumped aside at my approach, allowing me access even without a password. Indeed, before I had reached the top of the stairs the Headmaster stood at the open door watching me get closer.

If he knew what I had done he didn't show it. There was no sternness or anger, merely a light questioning look although the usual twinkle in his eye was missing. He said nothing as he ushered me into his study and gestured for me to sit in the chair in front of his desk. As I did, he made his way slowly around it and sat down in his chair facing me.

'You wanted to talk to me, Miss Granger?' Professor Dumbledore's voice was soft and soothing although with my now thoroughly frazzled nerves I was having trouble gauging this.

I nodded, unable for a moment to find my voice. I looked at the Headmaster, stricken. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, then steepled his fingers and looked at me over the top of them.

'Would you like me to start?' he asked kindly.

I quickly shook my head as panic set in. I couldn't let the Headmaster speak the words, couldn't let him tell me how I had ruined the wizarding world. His disappointment in me would be too huge a burden, too much for me to carry. But if I could explain to him what I had done — tell him the reasons behind it — the truth, although still painful, would at least be bearable.

Professor Dumbledore sat back patiently and waited for me to speak. I cleared my throat as I tried to put everything into a semblance of order that wouldn't make it sound as if I had been a stupid and immature child riding roughshod over everyone's lives because I thought I was so brilliant and could solve all the problems of the world. But, of course, that was exactly what I had been and no amount of sugar-coating was going to make it any more palatable.

'This is all my fault,' I admitted. My voice was quiet, already penitent, as I looked down at the table rather than face the Headmaster's gaze.

'All what, Miss Granger?' Professor Dumbledore asked gently.

I looked up in confusion. Surely he knew? He had been about to tell me what I had done wrong before . . . and then I understood. He did know, but he was waiting for me to tell it in my own words, just as I had requested.

My hands were in my lap, playing with the bottom of my blouse; nervous fidgeting. I looked at them for a second, then back at Professor Dumbledore.

'It's my fault that Voldemort has taken over the wizarding world.' I stated. 'I tried to change things — tried to make them better — but I only ended up making them worse.'

Dumbledore nodded his head in understanding but still didn't say anything. I guessed he wanted me to continue.

'Things were getting bad,' I said, trying to explain why I had chosen to do what I had done, 'and worse things were coming. The Order of the Phoenix couldn't fight it and Harry, Ron and I had no idea what we were meant to be doing.

'I couldn't just let it come, couldn't let it lie. I spent months thinking about things, going through the history of what had happened and eventually, everything seemed to lead back to . . . .'

I stopped talking. I didn't want to mention Severus and how everything had been because of him.

'. . . a single point in time,' I finished lamely.

'And this point in time was when?' Professor Dumbledore asked, his voice still quiet and soothing.

'Nineteen seventy-eight,' I said. 'I knew something had happened at about that time that had set in motion the chain of events that caused Harry's parents to get killed and make him into the Chosen One. I worked out that if I could go back and change the events, Harry's parents wouldn't die, there would be no prophecy, and Voldemort wouldn't have the power of that to work with. With the Order of the Phoenix not depleted by the Potters' deaths, they would be able to fight and defeat him. But it didn't work.'

Professor Dumbledore didn't say anything for a moment as he considered what I had just told him. I could feel my muscles tensing as I waited for the criticism that would surely follow. Instead, when he spoke his voice was still light and reassuring.

'I remember you, of course, from our brief meeting that day you arrived at Hogwarts.' He smiled. 'I see the Gryffindor robe wasn't just a choice made after reading _Hogwarts, a History_.'

I shook my head, remembering that other meeting.

'Seeing you in the Great Hall earlier made me realise that something wasn't quite right. Obviously, you couldn't have been at school back then yet still be the same age now. But I'm afraid that whatever you did has changed things so I don't remember the original timeline,' he continued.

I know I looked worried. I had counted on the Headmaster to be able to put things right and here he was admitting to me that he didn't even know what had changed. I scrubbed at my eyes, sighing as I did so. If Professor Dumbledore couldn't remember then he couldn't help me, and we really were going to be stuck in this dismal and terrifying world forever.

'Perhaps you'd like to explain about the original timeline further. Tell me about this prophecy and the "Chosen One". I'd like to know.'

So I told him. Everything I knew. All about Harry and his family; about Voldemort's first rise to power and his defeat in attempting to kill Harry. I told him about the prophecy, about the attempts that Voldemort had made to return over the years and about his eventual success after the Triwizard Tournament.

At one point the Headmaster stopped me and summoned a house-elf to order some tea and we waited, silently, until it reappeared bearing the tray. I took the opportunity to look around the room, finally seeing it as Harry had described it so many times before although now there were subtle changes to the way it had been the last time I was there.

Professor Dumbledore offered me a biscuit from a bone china plate, which I refused, before taking a sip of his tea. I was still blowing on mine to cool it and, ready to continue talking, I put the cup back on the saucer.

I spoke again at length, this time about my working out and the plan I had come up with, and explained how I had talked Harry and Ron into helping me. At the mention of the Time-Turner, Professor Dumbledore seemed most interested and I pulled it from my pocket and showed him the device.

As I continued to explain and the Headmaster questioned me, he held the Time-Turner in his hands, turning the chain around his fingers as he stroked the cool glass of the little phial of sand.

So far I still hadn't really mentioned anything about Severus. To be honest, part of me was still reeling at seeing him as his older self once more when only the night before we had been making love. Part of me yearned to be back with him again, whilst at the same time recognising that even if the attraction was still there between us now it was impossible to act upon for at least another year until I left school, as he was once again my teacher.

But surely with Professor Dumbledore's omnipotence where the school was concerned, he must have known something of what had happened between Severus and me — and more importantly, what had been happening between Severus, Lily and the Marauders before I even arrived at Hogwarts. He must have been able to see how things were going to play out between them until I had stepped in to save, or should I say ruin, the day. Was he content to let the bullying happen, and if so, why? I just couldn't understand why he would let such an awful thing happen.

'And Professor Snape was a part of this plan?' Professor Dumbledore asked interestedly, looking at me closely to see my response. I just hoped I wasn't blushing.

'Sev . . . Professor Snape was central to it,' I admitted. 'I had worked out that he and Lily had been a couple, but something went wrong. Something happened to turn him to Voldemort and Lily to James Potter. That was what had set the whole chain of events in motion. I didn't know what it was exactly but I was sure I could help fix things.'

'So your plan was to go back in time and seduce Professor Snape and change the course of the world?' The Headmaster sounded amused as he spoke and I knew I was definitely blushing now.

'Not at all,' I said, possibly a little over-defensively. 'I hadn't really expected to deal with him directly at all. I was going to work on James and the others to try to stop them from bullying him. But then I got over-involved with what was taking place and I had to help him . . . .' My voice trailed off, unable to adequately express what I wanted to say with regards to the Marauders' treatment of the boy I had fallen in love with.

Professor Dumbledore nodded understandingly. 'And did, indeed, change the course of the world although, alas, Miss Granger, not for the better.'

'I need to know what to do to put it right,' I said, the desperation returning in a flood. 'Please tell me and I'll do it.'

'I think you already know, Miss Granger,' Professor Dumbledore said. 'You need to go back and set the course of time back to the way it was before you intervened. You need to keep out of the action, guiding gradually from behind the scenes until you are sure that things are once again moving on their original course.'

'But how do you know that will work?' I asked. 'How will I know when it's time to leave?'

The Headmaster gave a small shrug. 'There is an element of chance with all such ventures,' he admitted. 'But the universe does like to reassert itself into the correct timeline wherever it can. If you send it in the right direction there's a very good chance it will spring back to the original timeline.'

'But how far should I go back?' I asked.

'To about the same time as last time,' Professor Dumbledore replied as if it was obvious. 'I think your arrival should be a few days later than last time to save you having to go through all the introductions and tests again. You should be able to slot back into things relatively easily and can begin to change the timeline.

I didn't respond immediately. I was thinking now of Severus. I was going to have to go back and undo everything that had happened between him and me, remove once more all his newly found self-esteem, and leave him to the not-so-tender mercies of Lily and the Marauders.

I felt a sharp stab of pain. I didn't want to have to do that to him and I didn't want to erase what had happened between us. I tried to think whether there was a way I could change things back and still get Severus but it was impossible. To change things back to the way they should be I had no choice but to sacrifice him.

'You need to go right back,' Professor Dumbledore repeated as if reading my thoughts. 'I'm sorry, Miss Granger. I am aware that you formed some relationships while you were there and I understand that with the situation the way it is it will be hard for you not to repeat your previous actions.'

I looked at the Headmaster in surprise. Did he know that Severus and I had . . . but no, surely he couldn't have known that. He wasn't that omnipotent.

I could feel the sadness coursing through me as I accepted what had to be done. In order to put things right, I had to give up Severus. There was no other choice. And anyway, he was too old for me now and would be again when I returned back to this timeline.

I nodded resolutely to show that I understood what had to be done.

'I shall make the calculations and depart as soon as possible,' I told the Headmaster. 'The sooner I get going, the sooner things will be back to normal.' I tried to sound as if I was confident that this would be the case. I'm not sure I managed particularly well.

Professor Dumbledore held out his hand and placed the Time-Turner into mine. 'Use it well, Miss Granger. I know you can do it.'

I swallowed, tears welling up at the idea of Professor Dumbledore putting such faith in me to return things to the way they had been originally. I honestly wasn't sure I was up to the task, especially when it meant betraying Severus to the Gryffindors who so detested him, and for no good reason either. Once again, I couldn't speak. Professor Dumbledore, realising this, patted my hand soothingly before dropping it.

There was a sound outside. It was the staircase moving. A few seconds later there was a sharp knock on the door.

'Enter,' Professor Dumbledore said. His voice showed no sign of stress.

The door opened and Professor Snape entered the room in a billow of black robes. He was scowling in the way that I had always remembered him doing, but as I looked at him more closely I saw that his face was softer than the Potions Master I knew and the scowl clearly wasn't a regular visitor.

'Albus, I need to talk to you,' Professor Snape began. He looked and sounded flustered. This was definitely not a Potions Master I had ever seen before. 'Something happened in the Great Hall. I saw . . . .'

His voice petered out as he realised I was in the room with them. His scowl turned deeper.

'Yes, Severus,' the Headmaster said soothingly. 'I know what you want to discuss. I was just having a conversation with Miss Granger about something similar.'

I was sure that he had that twinkle back in his eye. Professor Dumbledore turned to me and smiled.

'Well, you know what you have to do, Miss Granger, so I think that's all. Except to say good luck.'

'Thank you, sir,' I said quietly.

I was feeling extremely self-conscious with Professor Snape in the room, aware as I was that he was looking at me avidly. Was he thinking about what had happened between us all those years ago or had he put me out of his mind, forgotten that I even existed until I reappeared back in the Great Hall looking exactly as I had the last time he had seen me?

I turned to look at him before I left and knew instantly that whether he had thought of me over those years or not, Professor Snape was certainly thinking about me now, and what we had done. Although older, I could still see the young man in his face, the uncertainty and lack of self-assurance that had drawn me to him in a way I had never expected.

That glimpse of my Severus made the pain in my chest return with a vengeance. A part of me longed to run into his arms and hold him tight, to apologise for leaving him and promise never to let him go again. But that was never going to happen.

I was going to leave the Headmaster's study, go and do my calculations, and then I would change the past back to how it would have been if I hadn't been there to interfere. And then . . . then I would return to the present and Severus would once again be Professor Snape, the same snarky bastard I had known for six years, and there would never have been anything between us.

Except that I would remember. I would remember what had happened and there would always be a little part of me that would grieve for the loss of Severus. As I began to walk towards the door I wondered again whether there was any possibility that I could return things to how they were and still have Severus.

'Back to the beginning, Miss Granger.' Professor Dumbledore's voice pulled me from my thoughts, his tone warning me as if he had once again read my mind.

'Yes, Professor Dumbledore,' I replied meekly and a touch sadly as I left the room, leaving the two men alone.


	7. Chapter 6

Having left the Headmaster's office I spent several hours in the Library, of course, making my calculations hidden behind a massive Arithmancy book that was, very usefully, keeping everyone away from me.

I fully intended to go back and reverse what I had done in the hopes that it would return things to the way they should be and that I had learnt enough about the experience to be able to help Harry with what he needed to do in the future, despite still being none the wiser about what that was going be.

However, throughout that time, running alongside my desire to do what I knew I had to do my thoughts kept returning to my beloved Severus — my not-so-handsome-but-beautiful-on-the-inside boy with his dark shining eyes and his soft words and tender kisses — and I didn't want to lose him.

I didn't want to remember him as something that had no longer happened. I didn't want him turned into a case of wishful thinking. Although I had previously never had any interest in Severus when he was Professor Snape, except for how he fitted into Harry's story, knowing now what a bitch Lily had been to him during his time at school I desperately wanted his life to turn out better than it had in the original timeline.

This desire wasn't helped by him coming to find me in the Library. The two of us stared at each other awkwardly, neither of us knowing what to say or who should go first. Eventually, as the teacher, Severus seemed to find his voice.

'Will you come to my office, Miss Granger? I'd like to speak to you in private for a few minutes before you set out on your mission for Professor Dumbledore.'

I nodded, still not able to say anything, then packed away the books before following him out of the Library and down to his office in the dungeons, all the while wondering what we were going to say to each other — what we _could_ say to each other after so many years.

'You must have been here all these years but it's as if I never noticed you until tonight,' Severus said once we were sitting in his office. 'I have to admit that it was something of a shock to see you — still looking like that.' He indicated my school uniform.

'I was and I wasn't,' I tried to explain. 'While I was changing the timeline in 1978 I didn't exist here any longer, but as soon as I returned to 1997 I had always been here.' I stopped for a moment, then added, 'I assume Professor Dumbledore did explain to you what I did?'

Severus considered this question for a few seconds before indicating with a curt nod that the Headmaster had talked to him.

'He wasn't really explicit about it but I understand the gist is that you went back in time to attempt to stop He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named from ascending and you made things worse.'

There was that nasty, sarcastic edge to his voice that I remembered from so many Potions lessons at his hands in my own timeline. So, Severus might have become a nicer person in this timeline but he still had the potential to be a snarky bastard when he wanted to be.

I was blushing furiously as I retorted, 'You make it sound like I made things worse deliberately but I was honestly trying to make things better for everyone. How was I supposed to know that you had to become a Death Eater or that the bloody prophecy was so important?'

'I was supposed to become a Death Eater?' Severus looked at me in astonishment, then he frowned. 'You mentioned a prophecy to me the day you left. But there was no prophecy. It always made me wonder what you were talking about.'

I stared back at him, tears in my eyes, as I nodded. 'In the original timeline, you went to work for Voldemort because of what Lily did to you.' I looked surprised when he flinched at the word Voldemort. 'It was your way of getting revenge on her and the Marauders, I suppose. There was a prophecy — _is a prophecy_ — but because you didn't become a Death Eater you didn't get to hear it and tell You-Know-Who about it so he never took action.'

I shook my head sadly. 'But You-Know-Who hearing about the prophecy is what created the one person in the world who could defeat him. That never happened, and the Order of the Phoenix was never strong enough to crush him on their own as they didn't have a spy — _you_ — in his camp.

'Instead of being all but defeated when he attacked Harry, giving the Order more than a decade to prepare for his return, the Dark Lord has steadily risen to power and consolidated it, and now no one can topple him. There is no Chosen One to defeat him. He was never created.'

'Harry. Are you saying Harry Potter is this 'Chosen One' in the original timeline?' Severus asked interestedly.

'Yes. The prophecy that you related to Vol — You-Know-Who — told him that he would be defeated by a child born at the end of July to parents who had thrice defied him. Lily and James had always opposed him and their son was born on the 31 July. He decided it was them and went to kill them, on Halloween in 1981. Lily died defending Harry and in doing so created strong ancient magic that turned him into the Chosen One, and her death had you defecting to become a spy for the Order of the Phoenix.'

'By going back in time I hoped to stop the prophecy from happening, to stop Lily and James from dying. I thought that an Order that still contained them and the other Marauders — and hopefully you, too — would be strong enough to defeat You-Know-Who and we would never need a Chosen One, and Harry would still have his parents — that there would never be a second wizarding war. Unfortunately, it was a flawed plan because I didn't know enough about the prophecy and severely underestimated You-Know-Who's strength.

'Now I have to go back and put things right so that the true timeline can re-establish itself,' I concluded, sounding maudlin.

'You becoming my girlfriend changed things,' Severus said quietly after a couple of minutes of silence had passed between us. 'When you left so suddenly I was devastated. I couldn't understand why because you wouldn't explain, apart from that cryptic garbage about the prophecy, and you hadn't told anyone else you were going.

'It was actually the turning point in my relationship with the Marauders. Although we weren't mates by any stretch of the imagination, they were far more sympathetic towards me in the aftermath of your departure than I expected. The enmity disappeared almost overnight and when we left school we did so as comrades, all joining the Order of the Phoenix to fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.'

'It wasn't enough, though,' I told him unhappily. 'I ruined everything when I stepped in to stop Lily and the Marauders from treating you so badly. It was the bitterness that was created in you that was the catalyst for everything that came after and was the whole reason there was a Chosen One who could fight Vol — You-Know-Who.'

'But surely Dumbledore had a plan?' Severus asked.

I sighed. 'Professor Dumbledore's plan has always been for Harry to be the Chosen One. Even he could never defeat Vol — You-Know-Who, and I think something happened to him after their last battle that has depleted his energy considerably. My Professor Dumbledore seems a noticeably older man these days, and he damaged his hand — spell damage, I think.'

'So Dumbledore isn't the answer, then — although our one is still perfectly healthy and hasn't recently been in a fight with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. But if this prophecy exists, perhaps it could be triggered now,' Severus suggested.

I shook my head. 'It's too late for that prophecy now, Severus. I've seen your Harry and he could never take on the mantle — he's far too scared. It's not his fault, it's the way he's been brought up. In the original timeline, he did nothing but fight his whole life. After his parents' death, he was left to be brought up by Muggles and they were really horrible to him. It was a struggle for him to even survive.

'Then at school, we had to face . . . well, we had to face you and your hatred for Harry because of James . . . and Lily, too, I guess . . . and he did all sorts of things to make himself stronger. He fought the badly depleted Vol — You-Know-Who almost every year in some guise or other, and always beat him back.

'We even taught ourselves real defensive magic when the Ministry of Magic stepped in to stop us from casting actual spells in class. His whole life was spent preparing for him to be the Chosen One, but this Harry could never do that. He can't even cast a defensive spell, let alone fight the strongest wizard who ever lived.'

I could tell from the expression on Severus' face that he understood what I was saying; that I was right: there was nothing that could be done in the current timeline to make things better. I had no choice but to go back and undo the damage I had done.

He was still staring at me, every bit as avidly as I was staring at him. I was taking in the changes the years had wrought in him, still able to see the boy that I was so in love with beneath the older man's countenance. It hurt me being this close to him and not being able to hold and kiss him the way we had done only hours earlier, as far as I was concerned, although of course, it had been almost two decades before for Severus.

'You have no idea how I felt when I saw you again,' he said quietly. 'It was almost as if we were back in that corridor; as if you hadn't left me. I had to remind myself that it had been years and that I wasn't a teenager any longer.'

'It had only been minutes for me,' I told him. 'I literally left you in that corridor and then went straight to the place where I had Time-Turned. When I saw you in the Great Hall it had only been about ten minutes since I last saw you. It was pure agony for me.'

'Seeing me so old?' Severus asked.

I shook my head, fighting the tears that were threatening. 'Seeing you at all. I love you so much, Sev, and I so didn't want to leave you, but I had no choice — and then there you were, the one I had given everything to but you had moved on, had lived your life without me, and suddenly I had to become your student again.

'It was hard seeing you, and now it's harder still because I have to go back again and undo everything that was between us. I have to make sure it never happens, that time goes back to its original path . . . and I really don't want to. I don't want to lose you and what we shared. I don't want to erase you from my life. I love you!'

I was sobbing now, big fat teardrops running down my face as I admitted my true and most immediate feelings to a poor, bemused Potions Master who had long since recovered from any desire he may have held for me. But that was the problem: it wasn't in the past for me. I was still living it and it hurt like hell.

I tried to stop my tears, wiping my face with a handkerchief which did nothing but get wet, but then Severus was out of his chair and around the desk, wrapping his arms around me and holding me tightly as I wept. It felt so good to be in his arms again and I wished I could figure out a way to stop time now, forever, so he would never let me go.

'I spent years wishing you would come back,' he admitted, his voice a soft burr in my ear as he cuddled me. 'I was in love with you, too, Hermione. I would have done anything to see you again, even if it was just once.'

He gave a dark chuckle. 'I even considered joining He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named for a short time, in case he had some Dark magic that would allow me to get you back. But you had disappeared without a trace, almost as if you had never existed in the first place. There was no point in searching for a phantom, however real you had seemed when we were in bed.'

I felt my body tingle at his mention of our time together, making love, and knew I was blushing, still unable to believe that I had so easily given myself to him when there had never been any chance of a happy outcome for us.

'You were everything I wanted . . . everything I needed, but eventually I came to believe that you had been sent for a purpose and I wasn't meant to see you again. I have to admit that part of me wishes I hadn't seen you again,' he continued.

'I'm sorry, Sev,' I said sincerely. 'I never meant to hurt you.'

'I know.' His voice was surprisingly stoic and accepting. 'But now you're here, so what do we do now?'

'You know I can't stay. I have to go back, have to reset the timeline.' I know I sounded miserable because I felt sick at the thought of what I was going to have to do.

'Do you have to go immediately?' Severus asked, his voice subtly more seductive. He was stroking my back and the small movements were sending tingles throughout my body.

'We can't—' I said.

Severus kissed me, cutting off whatever I was going to say next, and to be honest I have no idea what that was. Joy, desire and a million other emotions overwhelmed me as I kissed him back just as fervently, wishing for the second time that night that time would freeze and keep us in this moment of bliss forever.

It didn't, of course, but as had always been the case a second kiss followed the first, and then a third, by which time I was out of the chair and being carried towards a little-noticed door and through to Severus' private quarters.

Once again I have no intention of going into details about what occurred when we reached Severus' delightfully big bed; let's just say we may have recreated some of our finer moments from the visits to the Room of Requirement and leave it at that. By the end of it, I knew I would forever be in love with Severus Snape, whatever timeline we were in and however old he was.

Obviously, this gave me something of a problem.

I couldn't stay here in this current time, as pleasant as it was, with Severus older and more experienced, even if only because I had promised Professor Dumbledore that I would return to 1978 and re-manipulate the timeline. I can assure you this _was_ the only reason I wasn't just hunkering down and making the best of the shitty timeline I had created, with my beautiful reinstated lover at my side.

If I did what I had promised I would lose Severus again, and this time it would be forever. The Professor Snape in my timeline (never Severus) couldn't stand me; I could imagine the scorn with which he would greet any attempt by me to initiate something between us.

Of course, I knew this was my punishment for daring to play god with a whole world, but it seemed so unfair that I had to return to the original timeline, which was still going to need dealing with, and that I would be stuck with the memories of Severus and the love we had shared — now in two different timelines — and would have to live with snarky Professor Snape, knowing that he would never have the faintest idea that we had once been in love with each other. It was going to be a rough punishment, and one I wasn't sure I deserved.

But I had no other choice. The wizarding world needed Harry to be the Chosen One, Severus had to join the Death Eaters and hear the prophecy, and I would get to spend the rest of my life wondering what might have happened had Severus and I had the chance to live our lives together as a couple — from either timeline.

I kissed Severus once more, enjoying for the last time his arms around me before slipping from the bed to retrieve my clothes. Although I wasn't at all happy about what I had to do I was ready to do it. There was no point in putting it off any longer otherwise I would only feel worse about having to leave Severus. It was already tearing me apart.

With a final fond farewell, I made my way back out of the school to find my now hated Time-Turner spot. 

* * *

Of course, I didn't do what Professor Dumbledore had told me to do.

I'm sure you've realised that by now because of the way I'm writing to you at the moment. If I had, I would have returned to Hogwarts in 1997 and followed whatever plan the universe had in store for us. I might even have ended up going out with Ron eventually, assuming we survived Harry's battle with Voldemort; because we would have been there to support him, right until the very end.

Perhaps Professor Snape would have been so unpleasant to me over the following years that I would have managed to forget all about the love we once shared, and life would have gone on in the way it was always meant to, with no one any the wiser that I had ever tried to change things.

But I just couldn't do it.

It was hard enough to know that I would have to return to 1978 and not interact with Severus in any way, to watch him get bullied and teased without stepping in to help. But having made love to him in 1997 as well as 1978 made it impossible. I was so in love with Severus that I couldn't let him go. I would return to 1978, just as I had promised the Headmaster I would, but I was going to have to find another way to manipulate the timeline because I was not prepared to lose Severus.

And so I used that bloody Time-Turner one last time; not to go to a couple of days after my original arrival in 1978 but back to the day I left.

I had made my decision and now I had to go all out to make sure that this timeline, however, good or bad, would do what it needed to do: Severus would hear the prophecy; Harry would become the Chosen One, and crucially, his parents weren't going to die. Furthermore, I would be there to guide Harry through his life and help him with everything he needed to know to defeat the Dark Lord.


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: _Well, here we are at the end and I'd like to say thank you to you for sticking with it. I really do appreciate you taking the time to read my story. I'd also like to once again thank my beta, Mamacita for everything she does for me. Dx_

* * *

I couldn't risk Severus running into me — the other me — in that corridor at the end of lessons. I didn't want to take the chance of him getting caught up in that conversation again and inadvertently changing the timeline in a way I couldn't control. Instead, I arrived just as lunch was finishing. It didn't take much persuasion to get him to bunk off his afternoon class — History of Magic revision — to go to the Room of Requirement for some far more productive study time. By the time we emerged just before dinner I knew I had made the right decision, whatever happened next. My future was with Severus; it was destined to be, whatever anyone else thought.

Now that Severus and I were so clearly not going to split up, our relationship with the Marauders and Lily changed. Lily, understanding that she had lost Severus forever, had taken to treating him as the friend he had once been; and having become much nicer she and I resumed our friendship, becoming best friends as time went on. Sirius finally realised that I was never going to fancy him, whatever he did, and that being nasty to my boyfriend did nothing but upset two strong witches who were more than happy to show their disapproval with magic. Now no one, not even James, would back him up when we were angry with him.

Eventually, he and the other Marauders called a truce and Severus was inducted into our Gryffindor family. It had taken a long while, to be fair, and hadn't been without trauma and the occasional breakdown in relations on both sides, but by the time we had all taken our final exams and set foot outside into the adult world we were a pretty close-knit group. The seven of us set out into the big wide world feeling fairly hopeful about our futures, even if Voldemort was still an ever-looming presence in our lives.

I know you're wondering how this was any different from what happened after I left Severus last time and how the timeline was going to change to the one I needed it to. The difference was that this time I was there and, just as the others did, I joined the Order of the Phoenix.

No, of course, I'm not saying that me being in the Order was enough to defeat Voldemort — as if!

But me remaining in 1978 was enough for me to be able to convince Severus, with the help of our friends, into reacquainting himself with his Slytherin colleagues and becoming a Death Eater in the service of Voldemort — not for real, of course, just as a spy for the Order — although he did have to submit to that disgusting tattoo, unfortunately, and believe me I paid for that for a long time afterwards.

It was also me who talked Severus into becoming a potions specialist when he had wanted to become an Auror, and this placed him in the prime position for taking on the job of Potions Master at Hogwarts when Voldemort ordered him to take it. In turn, that's right, this put him in the right position to hear the prophecy when that semi-fraud Sybill Trelawney told it to Professor Dumbledore in the room above the Hog's Head pub, and hence the Chosen One could finally come into being.

Of course, I had no intention of letting Harry's parents die in order for the prophecy to come true, although it was pretty close as I forgot all about bloody Peter Pettigrew and his treachery until it was almost too late. The original timeline was still there in my mind but becoming sketchier by the day as each change I effected eroded the original a little bit more.

Voldemort almost found and killed the Potters before we were ready for him. But fortunately, they all escaped with their lives, and it seemed that Lily's intention of dying for her son was enough to trigger the magic that protected him even though she didn't actually die. Once again the Killing Curse rebounded, leaving Harry scarred and the Dark Lord crawling around Albania for the next decade.

With Voldemort seemingly gone, Severus and I got married in August 1982 and settled down to life at Hogwarts, although we actually lived in Hogsmeade rather than at the castle as we wanted our marriage to survive rather than being overseen by Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall. Severus was content to continue his work as Potions Master, and no, he didn't covet the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher — I did — although it was a cursed position, and everyone knew it.

I took a job in Honeydukes initially, because we were still in our honeymoon period. Severus liked to nip home whenever he had a free period and the owners were pretty good about me taking irregular breaks as we lived just around the corner. When I discovered I was pregnant with our first child, in October 1982, it was a good place for me to work as it wasn't too strenuous and I could take lots of rest breaks.

Once Magda was born I gave up work to look after her full time. We spent a lot of time with her godparents, Lily and James, and Magda and Harry pretty much grew up together and get on like a house on fire. She's a clever girl but she's not bossy with it, and Severus and I are very proud of her.

It always fills me with delight when I see Harry treating her as if she was his sister although it's going to be interesting to see what happens in the future because she and Ronald are much closer than either of them have admitted to me so far.

Obviously, none of the children has any idea that I used to be Harry and Ron's best friend rather than their teacher, godparent, and a friend of their parents but that's fine by me. They don't need to know why I take such a strong interest in them — even more than they realise, actually.

My daughter won't be taking part in the upcoming battle even though I know she intends to fight if she gets the chance. She is still too young and I will not risk her or her brother and sister getting hurt, even to help Harry. I have taught him well and he is ready. They are not.

I didn't return to work as 1987 brought Severus and me a son called Christopher, who is like a mini-Severus, so much so that sometimes it makes me laugh. His best friend is Daisy, Harry's younger sister, who is the same age as Chris and is the spitting image of Lily — I think you can see where I'm going with this, can't you?

The two of them together can be terrifying, particularly since they got their magic. They really are a pair of pranksters and we have to keep them away from Fred and George's shop although somehow they still manage to get hold of the products. Once again, I blame Ronald.

Severus will get them next year when they start at Hogwarts. He can calm them down, although from what Magda tells me he's almost as grumpy as he was when I was at school with him. I'm sure that's all for show, though, and because she's his daughter. Normally he's adorable and he's forever being cited as the students' favourite teacher, which is nice and always makes me proud.

Our third child, Sarah, was born towards the end of Harry and Ron's third year at Hogwarts, in early 1994, after two years of trouble with Voldemort which Harry handled without much trouble thanks to me still remembering most of what happened in the original timeline and being able to give hints and dispatch help when required.

Remus came back to us that year, too, having returned from working with Sirius on Order business, ready to take on the task of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Having found myself pregnant again — not planned, I can assure you — I couldn't accept the job I had finally been ready to teach.

I was happy to let Remus teach in my stead as I knew he would give the children solid advice. My entire tenet was that the students needed to learn how to fight properly, and the sooner the better. But I drew the line at Sirius taking over during those monthly occurrences when Remus couldn't work and instead, co-opted my, fortunately, agreeable husband, who was already brewing him the Wolfsbane potion every month, into taking his place.

Honestly, I love Sirius to bits but there's absolutely no way on earth I would ever leave him in charge of a roomful of children, especially ones fighting each other!

I had hoped to take over the Defence Against the Dark Arts post the following year but Severus wasn't keen as it hadn't been that long since Sarah was born. With the Triwizard Tournament bringing all sorts of interesting and shady people to Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore — on the suggestion of my husband, no doubt — decided to employ the ex-Auror 'Mad-Eye' Moody for the year instead.

I'll admit I was frustrated, to begin with, but when I heard he had turned Draco Malfoy into a ferret my admiration for the man grew no end. By now Severus was employing me as his assistant, much to the total disgust of Magda, who was just starting her first year at Hogwarts as she seemed to believe I was only there to check up on her. I wasn't . . . at least not _just_ to check up on her.

By now the original timeline was long gone and those odd flashes I occasionally remembered made no sense even if I read my old diaries, but it didn't really matter. Our entire goal was to prepare Harry and his friends including, I'm pleased to say, Neville Longbottom, to face Voldemort and his Death Eaters. I didn't need to be a Seer or remember what had happened originally to ensure that they were ready.

Moody's unmasking as a Death Eater did come as a shock, I'll admit, and unfortunately it came too late to stop the death of one of the Triwizard Champions, a lovely boy called Cedric Diggory. He was killed by our old friend Peter Pettigrew, the traitorous little git, as he assisted Voldemort back to power.

Harry managed to survive, in part thanks to our preparation but mainly because he's an incredible boy who truly understands what his role is, even if he doesn't always like it.

With Voldemort returned, the Order prepared itself for battle at any time, although we hadn't originally anticipated having to fight the Ministry of Magic. Cornelius Fudge, about whom the less said the better, was so blinded by the fear that Professor Dumbledore wanted his job that he completely ignored the real threat.

Determined not to let Dumbledore put one over on him, Fudge tried to install his own Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, but with the number of Order members already working at the school that was never going to fly. So the Ministry teacher, an evil-looking old baggage called Dolores Umbridge, was sent back to the Ministry with a flea in her ear while I finally took on the job I had wanted for so long.

I have spent almost the last two years teaching every child in the school how to defend and fight. Even the first years could stop the Death Eaters from getting into the school although they won't be able to as they have already been sent home. Everyone under the age of seventeen has been sent home although I've no doubt a few will try to return as other members of the Order and parents are arriving all the time, knowing that Voldemort is coming and the final battle will take place at Hogwarts.

Harry has found and destroyed all of Voldemort's Horcruxes except two. One, the snake Nagini, was always going to be a difficult one to destroy as it stays near its master at all times. But everyone is ready so if the chance comes one of us will kill it, which will leave Voldemort almost helpless.

The other Horcrux Harry doesn't yet know about, although Professor Dumbledore is talking to him at the moment so perhaps by now he does. Somehow, during the attack that made Harry the Chosen One, part of Voldemort's soul transferred itself to Harry and until that part of him dies Voldemort cannot die.

Although I know it will upset him to hear it, Harry was my best friend for six years and I know how he will react. He will give himself up to Voldemort and allow himself to be killed, as this will remove the Dark Lord's final chance of survival. Harry will do this because above all else he is a hero and he knows it is the only way the wizarding world can ever be free.

We are ready and we will fight for Harry, and with Harry, and we will win.

We have to win.

Do I regret any of my actions? Not in the slightest. I have a wonderful husband and three beautiful children, which would never have been possible if I hadn't been selfish and ignored Professor Dumbledore's order.

Yes, I know I broke the law and irrevocably changed time. But from it came more happiness and a greater hope for the future than there ever was under the original timeline. And I think, as I've shown, I've done more to help Harry in this future that I created than I could ever have done had I remained purely as his friend.

And so it's time to leave; time to join my husband and my students in the battle that, from the sounds coming from above, has already started.

They are too young to fight, these youths, hardly more than children, yet they have the hearts and souls of warriors. Having trained with them originally in the D.A. and having taught them, too, I know they will all do everything required of them to ensure that Harry can fulfil his destiny without thought for their own safety.

Ronald and I, too, will fight and help him in any way we can although this truly was not how I had expected the story to end when I first told them of my plans, so long ago now.

Judge me however you will, dear reader. I honestly believe my actions have helped, not hindered Harry's cause, and that in the end, he will emerge victorious.

 _Hermione Snape_  
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, 2 May 1998


End file.
